The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is preparing to engage with Iranian officials to ensure the safe passage of Indian commercial vessels transiting the highly volatile Strait of Hormuz. This critical diplomatic outreach comes after an India-flagged supertanker, Lila Vadinar, carrying two million barrels of crude, was forced to make a sudden U-turn off Oman due to rising regional security threats.

The turnaround follows a series of recent missile strikes targeting commercial shipping, prompting international maritime authorities to raise the regional threat risk to "severe". Tehran has completely rejected the newly established "southern corridor" along the Omani coastline and instead are ordering all commercial traffic to avoid Omani waters and utilise Tehran's designated central route, which is in its control.